Ohio Education Association Endorses Cordray For Attorney General: Union Didn't Wait To Learn Who GOP Picks

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- Democrat Richard Cordray will have the backing of the 130,000-member OEA, the state's biggest teacher's union. The Ohio Education Association said its endorsement panel "carefully screens candidates based on their voting records as well as their support of public education and the OEA's priority issues." But the union's description of a careful screening process seems to have a bit of a flaw. As yet, there is no Republican candidate for Ohio attorney general to screen for the Nov. 4 statewide ballot. Cordray -- the sole major party candidate in the race -- was the unanimous pick. Some critics see a rush to judgment. Ohio's Republicans still haven't slated a candidate to run for the job that Marc Dann, a Democrat elected in November 2006, quit after confessing an extra-marital affair with a female member of his staff. The teacher's union announced Friday that it is satisfied Cordray, currently Ohio's state treasurer, "truly supports" public schools. Thus, it saw no need to wait to learn the views of the GOP candidate.

The press release announcing the Cordray endorsement is available here. OEA President Patricia Frost-Brooks said:

"Richard Cordray has demonstrated that he truly supports public education through his initiatives working with teachers and public school students. He is a person of great integrity and is committed to fairness and justice. We believe he will support our effort to create great public schools in Ohio."

Marc Dann Would Be Bragging Today: Anheuser-Busch Corks Energy Drink Business

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- Ohio was among several states that challenged the beverage industry for marketing alcohol-laced caffeinated energy drinks to young people. Today, St. Louis-based brewing giant Anheuser-Busch made a deal with the attorney generals and said it will no longer produce "Tilt," "Bud Extra," or any other alcoholic energy drinks. Marc Dann was in at the start of the investigation -- he wasn't widely seen as a rat yet -- but didn't last in office to the end. And nobody in the Ohio AG's office even bothered to put up a press release June 26 to take note of Anheuser-Busch's surrender.

In New York, Democrat Andrew Cuomo was spreading the news:

"Drinking is not a sport, a race, or an endurance test. Adding alcohol to energy drinks sends exactly the wrong message about responsible drinking, most especially to young people. This agreement keeps these dangerous products off our shelves and makes it clear that targeting underage consumers with advertisements for alcohol will not be tolerated."

According to the AGs who challenged the beverage makers, the caffeinated alcoholic drinks taste and resemble popular non-alcoholic drinks. The AGs contend the drinks have caught on "because aggressive marketing campaigns reinforce the common misconception that the caffeine in the drinks will counteract the effects of the alcohol."

A Boomlet For Chandra? Cincinnati Enquirer Editor Says He's The Man

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The Enquirer's editorial page editor Dave Wells is pointing out his newspaper endorsed Subodh Chandra in the 2006 Democratic primary for Ohio attorney general. Wells says Gov. Ted Strickland should seriously consider appointing Chandra to the office now that Marc Dann is gone and selling dishes over the Internet in Youngstown. Wells says Chandra is smart and competent and ready for the job. He's right. Here's the Enquirer's editorial (pdf) from two years ago. It is worth re-reading. The Enquirer wrote, "Chandra is one of the most impressive statewide candidates Ohio Democrats have produced in years."

Also, Republican Betty Montgomery has issued a statement saying that she is not interested in seeking the office again. Montgomery served as AG from 1995 through 2003. She was state auditor for four years, then tried to reclaim the office in 2006 and was upset by Marc Dann. Matt Hurley at Weapons of Mass Discussion found Montgomery's statement on the Enquirer's website in a story about Dann's resignation.

Ohio Attorney General's Official Web Site: All Mentions of Marc Dann Now Erased; He's Busy Peddling Cups And Saucers

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The cyber exorcists were active and they have cleansed the State of Ohio's Web site. Marc Dann's name and picture have been been banished less than 24 hours after his resignation as attorney general. Dann is reportedly going to be selling Fiestaware while he puts his professional and personal life back together. Jeff Coryell at Ohio Daily Blog spotted that tidbit in today's Vindicator.

Subodh Chandra For Ohio Attorney General: Why Isn't He High On The List?

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The former federal prosecutor from Cleveland ran for the Democratic nomination against the disgraced Marc Dann and received nearly 200,000 votes in the 2006 primary. He was the outsider challenging Dann, an incumbent state senator. The party endorsed Dann -- a huge mistake. Chandra's Web site from that campaign is still up and functioning and can be seen here. It contains an enormous amount of information about Chandra. Take a moment to check it out. In 2006, some Dems thought Dann's name -- more anglicized -- made him a stronger candidate. That was pre-Obama thinking and should be inoperative ( Nixon era word); now they certainly know that unfamiliar-sounding names can draw huge numbers of votes. Chandra is the son of immigrants, an Obama delegate this year, and he headed Cleveland's law department before seeking statewide office. All his qualifications are available online (see above) and there has never been a hint of scandal. He was vetted by the Justice Department when he worked as an assistant U.S. attorney handling sensitive cases like medical fraud.

Chandra (pronounced chun-dra) may be just the kind of fresh face Ohio Democrats need to put the Dann scandal in the crypt.

Ohio Atty. Gen. Marc Dann Resigns: How Long Before The State Scrubs Its Website Clean?

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- He's gone. But this is still up on the official State of Ohio Web site. Bet it is changed by tomorrow at the latest. Sooner would be even better. All mentions of the shameful Dann era are headed for the dump. Too bad that Youngstown has to be linked to the scoundrel. Dann no doubt thought he was promoting the city. He wound up embarrassing the town. The people of Youngstown deserved far better.

Plain Dealer Reports: Ohio AG Marc Dann To Resign, Telling Staff Today

UPDATE -- The Akron Beacon Journal says Dann's resignation won't be today. The news reports are now being described as "premature."

CLEVELAND (TDB) -- The Plain Dealer says he's going to step down this afternoon. A source in Columbus who serves in the Ohio House and is close to Dann has confirmed the story for The Daily Bellwether. And the Columbus Dispatch is reporting that the attorney general has been meeting in his office with Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher and working out terms for a resignation and departure from state government. Fisher -- who is No.2 to Gov. Ted Strickland -- served as attorney general from 1991 through 1995 and has knowledge of the inner workings of the office that Dann has held since early January 2007.

Another Dispatch Blast At Marc Dann: FBI Asked To Probe AG's Gambling Ties

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- Finally, the phrase organized crime has surfaced. The report says a law enforcement task force in Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann's office has asked the FBI to investigate his possible connection to gambling interests. Details are scant, and more are likely to come out during the day. This is a sign the story seems to be moving beyond sex, office shenanigans and cronyism and into the realm of corrupt activities. It is unlikely Dann would be investigated by the FBI for throwing penny ante poker games on his patio in suburban Youngstown. Pure speculation: Perhaps a suspicion or allegation that gaming interests who want to put casinos, or slots and slot machine-style gambling machines in Ohio, exerted some kind of influence with Dann, or made some kind of overture or deal.

Kansas' Dem AG Resigned 6 Months Ago In Sex Scandal: Ohio Native Gov. Kathleen Sebelius Helped Push Him Out

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The Democratic attorney general of Kansas, Paul Morrison, resigned last December after a female aide with whom he had an extramarital romantic relationship filed federal sexual harassment charges. The Ohio angle: Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a Cincinnati native and potential Obama vice presidential running mate, wanted the AG out. Sebelius is the daughter of former Ohio Gov. John Gilligan. A Kansas source who was "very close to the story" wrote The Daily Bellwether and said the attorney general resigned when Sebelius "essentially kicked him to the curb . . ." The source added there were "some fascinating parallels" between the Kansas and Ohio scandals.

And while the events that unfolded in the Sunflower State a half year ago aren't quite the same as the uproar now enveloping Ohio Atty. Gen. Marc Dann, there are similarities. Especially Morrison's insistence at first that he would not resign, which sounds like Dann's vow to stay despite increasing pressure to step aside.

Sebelius took a dim view of Morrison's consensual sexual affair with one of his subordinates, and called for his resignation if the allegations were true. Morrison was married with three kids. The attorney general admitted the relationship, which took place while he was a county district attorney -- an office he held before switching from the Republican Party to run statewide as a Democrat. "Certainly, if any of the allegations turn out to be true, I think yes," Sebelius said about a resignation at the time. "One deals with his conduct as an attorney in the DA's office. The other is as an employer. I think either one should trigger a resignation."

There is more background about the Kansas AG scandal in this MSNBC.com report.

11 Days Ago Marc Dann Had A Chance To Tell The Truth: Transcript Shows He Didn't

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Ohio's Democratic Attorney General Marc Dann was under oath April 22 and testifying in a sexual harassment scandal when chief investigator Ben Espy asked a tough question. Had his office scheduler, a woman with whom he was suspected of having a romantic relationship, ever spent the night at his suburban Columbus apartment? The pad was Dann's home away from home in the Youngstown area, and there were rumors it may also have functioned as a lovenest. The record reveals Dann bristled and did not give a straight answer to Espy's question that day. Instead, Dann dodged, weaved and danced a little sidestep. He claimed didn't know the answer because he was hardly ever there. Turns out, that was not entirely true. Here's what the transcripts show:

"DANN -- You know, this is the kind of thing that I was talking about when we started. I mean, I'm just not going to allow this to be dragged into a -- transformed from a serious inquiry about sexual harassment complaints to a discussion of rumors and innuendo. And I don know, because I wasn't -- I was barely at the apartment.
ESPY -- Well, the reason -- I'm going to tell you the reason for the question.
DANN -- Sure.
ESPY -- It's not -- and I made it very clear in this investigation, I'm not the moral police, I'm not getting into relationships.
DANN -- (Witness nods head.)
ESPY -- The question was asked in the context of her being seen early in the morning there.
DANN -- She was there early in the morning, and she was there in the evening, I can tell you that.
ESPY -- The question is whether or not that's a carryover from staying overnight and leaving or coming over in the morning.
DANN -- There were many times she came at night to drop off schedules. She knew my schedule. Sometimes I didn't get there until 9:00 or 10:00. Many mornings I left early, like, 5:00, 6:00, even or 4:30 occasionally. I can remember one occasion when she came early to make sure I had the briefing material I needed. It wasn't so much the schedule, Ben, as it was the -- as it was the backup. You see the backup I get every day.
ESPY -- Right. Briefings you mean?
DANN -- Yeah, the briefing material. Those are the kinds of things. Oftentimes, because she had to rely on other people throughout the office, they simply didn't get it to her in time to compile it and get it to me in a reasonable hour. So I'm heading north in the morning from Dublin. or oftentimes west, without going back to the State Office Tower first, it made sense for her to do that.
ESPY -- Well, I've seen your schedule, which I don't know how you do it. But I've seen your schedule. Some of these questions were raised, innuendo were raised. We were trying to separate fact from fiction.
DANN -- Right.
ESPY -- So I think some of these questions had to be asked. But I know the scope of this investigation.
DANN -- Sure."

But three days ago, Dann changed his story. He returned for more questioning on April 30. He admitted scheduler Jessica Utovich had spent the night. Here's the testimony from that day:

"ESPY -- The question on Line 18 was: Do you ever recall her ever staying overnight at the apartment?
DANN -- Right. And I said at the end I didn't know, I was barely at the apartment, before you move on to another question. And although the transcript doesn't reflect it, I felt like I didn't get a chance to complete my answer at the time, and I wanted to complete the answer.
ESPY -- Go ahead.
DANN -- Although I was infrequently at the apartment, I was aware that she stayed overnight; however, I want to be clear that she did not stay overnight on September 10th, 2007.
ESPY -- You indicated that you were aware she did stay overnight?
DANN -- Yes.
ESPY -- Do you know what was the occasion?
DANN -- You know, I have knowledge that she stayed overnight. What I don't want to do is allow this serious investigation about allegations of sexual harassment be transformed into something that is about rumor and innuendo. And so there are a variety of reasons but I -- I don't think it adds any value to your investigation to respond."

If Ohio AG Marc Dann Falls, Who Gets His Job? These Democrats Are Off-Stage, Or In The Wings

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Making a list and checking it more than twice. Ohio's Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland would get to make the appointment if Attorney General Marc Dan resigns or is forced out of office. And Number 1 on the marquee of potential replacements who might get a star turn could be former Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken, a lawyer who served longer as mayor of the Queen City than anyone in history. Luken is a lobbyist, a former TV anchorman (Channel 5, WLWT-TV) who replaced Jerry Springer, an ex-Congressman, and serves as an appointee on the State Racing Commission. He is a popular figure in SW Ohio and supported Strickland in the 2006 contest. Over the years, Luken reportedly has been interested in a statewide office. He has some baggage: A divorce and rumors about a relationship with a female journalist during his TV days. But the rumors never affected his political career in Cincy, and they may have been little more than spiteful gossip spread by rivals trying to hold him back. Here are some other names that are floating around in Democratic circles as Dann replacements:

JULIA BATES -- She is the prosecutor in Lucas County, a job she's held since 1996. She grew up in the Cleveland area and went to college at Wittenberg U in Springfield, so she knows a large chunk of the state. Bates was the first woman to ever head the Ohio Prosecuting Attorney's Association, and she has instant cred as a law enforcement figure. Her job in Toledo makes her extremely well-known in NW Ohio, which would be an advantage if former Republican AG Betty Montgomery seeks the office again in 2010. Montgomery is from Bowling Green. Bates would appeal to women voters, too.

KENT MARKUS -- He is one of Gov. Strickland's top aides, and was Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher's chief of staff when Fisher held the AG's office in the 1990s. Markus is a Harvard Law grad who has held high positions in the U.S. Justice Department, taught law at Capital University and was chief of staff for the Democratic National Committee. He has Cleveland area ties. He was slated to become a federal appeals court judge on the 6th Circuit, but the appointment never made it through the Senate in the final days of the Bill Clinton Administration. Markus reportedly has been interested in a statewide office. He has not held an elected position.

SUBODH CHANDRA -- He ran against Dann in the 2006 Democratic primary and impressed a lot of progressives. Chandra is an Obama delegate, a former Cleveland law director and assistant U.S. attorney. He served as the city's acting mayor when the top dog was out of town. Chandra is a Yale Law School grad. Some Democrats believe that he should get any opening as AG -- should Dann depart -- because Chandra sought the office and campaign statewide. His experience running Cleveland's law department -- which has 82 attorneys -- would offer some preparation for taking over in Columbus.

LEE FISHER -- He's been attorney general before. Right now, Fisher is running Ohio Department of Development. He might be better suited for the legal end.

BEN ESPY -- Dann's chief deputy was an Ohio State running back. Espy is running the investigation of the sexual harassment case involving AG office employees. He is an African American and well-respected around the state after a long career in Columbus city politics and the state legislature. Espy ran unsuccessfully for the Ohio Supreme Court in 2006.

SHARON ZEALEY -- She was the U.S. attorney for the southern half of Ohio during the Clinton years. Zealey is not well known statewide, and she has been working in private practice and as an adjunct law professor at the University of Cincinnati since her term as federal prosecutor ended. She is an African American, and the Democrats would have to make a big push to increase her visibility and name recognition around the state. She would be a longshot at best.

DICK CHEMA -- He was a former federal prosecutor from Dayton who ran as the Democratic Party's 2006 congressional candidate in OH-03. He lost to Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, a former Dayton mayor. Chema is seen as a man of absolute integrity, and he might be seen as just the prescription for an office that was tarred by scandal. He has fallen off the radar since his loss.

There are other names being mentioned. Perhaps this list will grow over the next few days, and additions are welcome. Luken and Bates probably are the top contenders.

Bizzyblog's Mr. Blumer And Ohio Media's Collective Amnesia: His Diagnosis Of Democratic Bias Seems Offbase

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Bizzyblog proprietor Tom Blumer is worked up because news stories about Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann fail to routinely mention that Dann is a Democrat. Blumer doesn't seem to notice that news stories about President George W. Bush do not always mention that Bush is a Republican. In fact, here's a story about Bush from The Fort Leavenworth Lamp, and it doesn't mention that Bush is a Republican. The Lamp, by the way, is the official post newspaper published at the Kansas military reservation and prison. Its story about the president points out he was reducing the length of service tours in Iraq from 15 t0 12 months. Certainly, good news for the troops. Under Blumer's theory, it must have been a Pentagon/news media conspiracy to conceal Bush's political party affiliation from the very forces he leads as commander-in-chief.

Here's a Bloomberg news service story about Bush and a visit with South Korea's chief executive. Again, no mention of Bush's Republicanism. And the Voice of America carried a report about Bush's April 19 radio address attacking "opposition Democrats in Congress" without mentioning that Bush is a Republican. Then there is this April 18 report about Bush and the importance of his tax rebate/economic stimulus plan that also was aired on the government-owned VOA, and it also fails to mention President Bush is a Republican.

Is this really some kind of conspiracy? Is the government in on it, too? Or is it just the media not applying a party identifier where it is probably unnecessary? Undoubtedly the latter. Bizzyblog's Blumer seems to be contending that the media is intentionally omitting Marc Dann's Democratic tag in order to protect Ohio's attorney general in a sexual harassment scandal. The GOP-leaning conservative blogger -- a frequent media critic who contributes to Newsbusters -- writes that Ohio's reporters have collective amnesia about Dann's political affiliation:

"Strangely, this disease only appears to effect the left side of the brain, as Ohio's reporters usually have little trouble identifying the party of scandal plagued Republicans."

But it's clear that the media doesn't cling to party identifiers. It uses them most (as a Google or Yahoo search quickly will indicate, or a newsroom style book will reveal) in stories about legislative officeholders -- as in Rep. So-and-So, D-Lake Erie; or Sen. So-and-So, R-Ohio. And it uses them when candidates are contesting elections -- when Dann, a Democrat, ran against Betty Montgomery, a Republican. That is the common formula, or style. Governors and presidents and judges and cabinet members are not typically identified by their party when it's not around election time. Perhaps that style rule, or tradition, needs to be changed. No argument there. But it is hardly a conspiracy or "collective amnesia." And Tom Blumer's shot at the journalists covering the Dann scandal could be cheap. Many of them have dug, and dug deep for their stories. The Columbus Dispatch broke the story two weeks ago today. And if the Columbus Dispatch journalists had been inclined to protect Marc Dann out of party fealty, well, there wouldn't be any knowledge of the Dann scandal in the public domain. And if nobody knew about the scandal, Tom Blumer wouldn't have anything to fuss about.

Ohio Atty. Gen. Marc Dann: Allied With New York's Cuomo In Facebook Probe

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- Ohio Atty. Gen. Marc Dann has confirmed his office is investigating Facebook, the social networking Website that is popular with students. The Daily Bellwether also has obtained the full-text of a letter from the New York attorney general's office that contends the site is used by sexual predators to find child victims, or to recruit Facebook users for porno films. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's six-page letter (pdf) to Facebook executives was timed to coincide with Dann's disclosure in Ohio. Cuomo said undercover investigators had discovered inappropriate content and hardcore pornography.

From Cuomo's letter:

"Perhaps, most alarmingly, Facebook ignored several -- and repeated -- complaints from our undercover investigators concerning persons who made inappropriate advances to underage users. The OAG made these complaints to Facebook both as underage users as well as parents of underage users.

"For instance, on August 30, an OAG investigator created a profile for a fourteen-year-old female high school student from New York. Approximately a week later, she received a Facebook message from a 24 year old man, asking 'do you have any nude pics.' The investigator lodged a complaint with Facebook as the student's mother from a Hotmail account complaining that her daughter was being solicited by older men. The next day, Facebook sent a response saying that Facebook 'will review the reported material and remove anything that violate our Terms of Use.' To date, however, Facebook has taken no further action, and the 24-year-old's profile is still available on the Facebook site."

Ohio Atty. Gen. Marc Dann: High Praise From Unlikely Quarter

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- The American Tort Reform Association is a lobbying organization funded largely by corporations, insurors and business groups who believe the U.S. economic climate has been harmed by overzealous plaintiff lawyers and a legal system that is stacked to favor victims. It has also been concerned about state attorney generals who are becoming activists in the cause of consumer and stockholder rights, or cracking down on environmental and health hazards -- think lead paint -- through litigation. ATRA, as the group is widely known, is no friend to the plaintiff's bar.

And today, ATRA is out with a broadside aimed at state attorney generals who have been "hiring personal injury lawyers from the private sector to perform legal work for the state, and hundreds of millions of dollars in contingency fees are sometimes at stake." Sherman Joyce, ATRA's executive director, is pushing a national Transparency Code to expose how those contracts are handed out in all 50 states. Joyce outlined the code in a column for the the National Law Journal, and said there is too much secrecy in the selection process.

But he had praise for Ohio's Democratic Atty. Gen. Marc Dann. However, his kind words about Dann cannot be found on ATRA's Web site or in the National Law Journal column. The Daily Bellwether spotted them in a PR Newswire press release from ATRA that specifically cited Dann as a national leader in opening up the process of employing outside counsel. It was a campaign promise that Dann made while running for attorney general in 2006, and now he's gotten kudos from an unexpected corner for living up to his promise. Joyce said:

"Ohio already has one of the most robust public records laws in the nation, and Attorney General Marc Dann has voluntarily embraced the idea of competitive bidding. These are both examples that other states and AGs could follow and build on. If AGs are to be successful in pursuing the public interest, they must have the full confidence of the citizenry. Transparency and accountability are the foundations of such confidence."

ATRA says its Transparency Code "encompasses the good government principles of public disclosure, competitive bidding, oversight and fiscal accountability." A link to the press release that praises Dann is here.

Ohio Atty. Gen. Marc Dann: Joins 29 Others With 'Serious Concerns' Over High-Energy Drinks

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- The attorneys general of 29 states and Guam told the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Bureau they have "serious concerns about the formulation of alcoholic beverages that contain caffeiene and other stimulants." Ohio AG Marc Dann signed the August 20, 2007 letter complaining the popular drinks are being sold with aggressive marketing campaigns that overplay the health benefits and downplay potential risks. Young Americans are the targets.

The full-text of the six-page letter is available here (PDF). Anheuser-Busch was singled out for criticism over a product called Bud Extra, which the AG's said is marketed as a stimulant.

"Anheuser-Busch markets this drink (formerly known as 'B-to-the-E') with claims about the product's stimulating effect and its power to enable the consumer to continue to drink more. The Bud Extra Website boasts, 'Bud Extra is infused with more of everything you never knew to expect. It's flavored with ginseng, powered by caffeine and charmed with . . .guarana? Some call the tropical fruit a magical herb: the Guarani Tribe in Brazil believe it is a way to regain strength.' Promotional statements for this beverage include, 'Who's up for staying out all night,' 'Say hell to an endless night of fun,' 'Stay around for every twist of the ride,' and 'You can sleep when you are 30.'"

The AGs said they wanted federal regulators to investigated promotional claims made by numerous alcoholic energy drink makers, not just Bud. And they called on the feds to take enforcement action against any whose health-related claims are misleading. Dann and the other attorney generals said many of the drinks have alcohol content 6% or greater.